Wang, Joba, and Ian

I've noticed over the last few days that there is some unwarranted panic on the part of Yankee fans about the struggles of Wang, Joba, and Ian in the last couple of days. Everyone needs to relax, take a deep breath, and remember that it is spring training. While it's certainly not encouraging to see players struggle, it's also not necessarily a sign that there is something wrong. Consider:

1. This early, players often don't have arm strength and command in mid-season form.
2. Pitchers often use spring training to work on things, perhaps throwing to a side of the plate or using their offspead pitches more than they would in the regular season.
3. Pitchers sometimes struggle in the regular season. One bad outing does not mean that they're completely finished.
4. Short outings magnify the numbers. It's quite possible that, given more innings in their respective starts, Ian and Joba would have settled down and not given up any more runs.

The sky is not falling, and none of the aforementioned pitchers are toast. If they continue to struggle for the rest of spring, it'll be time to worry a little. But until that happens, rest easy and enjoy the fact that baseball is back.

Melancon - this year's Joba?

I've seen this suggested in a few different articles this offseason, and there's another one today. The highlights:

As Joba Chamberlain blazed through the Yankees' minor league system and became a late-summer sensation in the Bronx, Mark Melancon quietly rehabbed his elbow and silently cheered.

Suddenly, it's not crazy to believe that a kid with a few innings and immense potential could join the 2008 pennant race by August.......

At 6 feet 2, 215 pounds, Melancon (pronounced muh-LAN-sen) already is in possession of an electric fastball out of a high, three-quarter delivery. But his plus-rated, big major league curveball sets him apart. "It's just a hammer," said Mark Newman, the Yankees' chief of baseball operations.

I like Melancon a lot and see him as a big part of the Yankee bullpen, but I'm trying to hold off from expecting too much from him on the big-league level this year. He's about to turn 23, has 7 2/3 minor league innings under his belt, and is in his first year back from Tommy John surgery. It's entirely possible that he'll prove himself ready to contribute to a contender, but it's also possible that he'll need the entire year to get his form back, even if he looks great right now. While I wouldn't bet on him helping the Yanks a whole lot this year, I definitely wouldn't count him out, especially with the raves about his mental makeup.

Moose's Start

Murray Chass says that Moose's year will have an impact on the big 3:

All of which means the Yankees are counting on Mussina, partly because they are paying him $11.5 million this season, partly because his distinguished track record of 250 career wins makes him an ideal veteran presence to nurture a young staff.

The problem, of course, is that because he looked finished last season, to the point where he had to be pulled from the rotation in favor of Kennedy, even an early spring training start is subject to scrutiny.

As such the three-run monster home run that Carlos Lee hit off Mussina Monday was enough to set off alarms - March or not - at least among Yankee fans.

The Yankees definitely need innings out of Moose this year. With so many young starters on innings restrictions they need someone to pick up the slack and eat up some innings. I'm not expecting a return to his previous form, but 180 - 200 league average innings would be nice from him.

Also, if any alarms went off in your head because Moose gave up a home run to Carlos Lee in his first spring training start, you are an idiot.

Game Recap

Moose got off to a tough start, posting the following line: 2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 1 HR. Peter Abraham reminds us to keep it in perspective:

Mike Mussina wasn’t too upset with his performance, noting that worrying about the results this early in spring training would be counter-productive. He also noted that four of the six hits he allowed came on two-strke counts.

“I didn’t have an out pitch,” he said.

I’m sure the many members if the Yankee Panic Society will proclaim that Mussina is finished. But you can make up a long list of pitchers who looked like bums the first week of March and did fine once the season started. The list of pitchers who looked great the first week of March and proved to be bums is even longer.

He is absolutely right, of course. It was Mussina's first start of the spring, so there's really no reason to worry yet. Even the great Johan Santana got smacked around the other day. We shouldn't get too high or too low about any spring training results.

Even though I just admitted it doesn't mean much, blog favorite Morgan Ensberg was, at last check, 2-2 with a double, an RBI, a run, and an error. Shelley Duncan, unwilling to give any ground in the race to platoon with Giambi at first, is 1-2 with a double, RBI, and run.

Keep raking, Morgan.

Short post today

I'm fighting off a cold and have little energy, but if I get out of the habit of posting, I'll have a hard time getting back to it.

Shelley Duncan got off to a red-hot start this spring:

Shelley Duncan warns against gushing about the sizzling first exhibition game performance he delivered yesterday against the Phillies.

"You can't make too much of it," said Duncan, who clubbed a three-run homer in the first inning and drilled a two-run double off the left-field wall in the third that propelled the Yankees New York Yto a 9-3 win at Bright House Networks Field. "In spring training you can get locked in and the feeling goes away."

I like Shelley, but I have some concerns about him at the Major League level. It's quite possible he'd make an excellent platoon player, but I fear the holes in his swing will be overexposed. Then again, I think some of that is just my desire to see Morgan Ensberg make the team.

Chien-Ming Wang is working on developing his change up, which is good news for the Yankees and bad news for the rest of the league. Improving this pitch will allow him to strike more guys out, which, combined with his extreme groundball tendencies, makes for one hell of a pitcher. I hope he uses the pitch more throughout the season.

"Winning 19 games is all well and good but you have to change," pitching coach Dave Eiland said of Wang's willingness to make the change-up an out pitch that can be used eight to 10 percent of the time.

Wang learned the circle change in the minor leagues but basically has been a two-pitch hurler. And since his signature sinking fastball is so filthy, Wang has been able to get by. Yet, good hitting teams like the Red Sox and Indians have spanked Wang recently. Who can ever forget the paddling the Indians gave Wang in two ALDS games last year when the Yankees' ace went 0-2 with a 19.06 ERA. In 52/3 innings he gave up 14 hits (three homers).

"He puts it in the hitters' mind that instead of two pitches, now they go up there and think he might throw another one," said catcher Jose Molina who caught Wang's two-inning effort yesterday at Bright House Networks Field, where the Yankees topped the Phillies, 9-3.

Great quote from blog favorite Morgan Ensberg

On the team's win over USF:

Morgan Ensberg, who won a College World Series title while at Southern California, joked about a return trip after the win over USF. Said Ensberg: "If we keep playing like this, we'll be in Omaha in June."

Kei Igawa

There's not much I really need to say about Igawa. I had moderately high hopes for him when he was signed. I didn't think he'd be great, but I thought he'd miss enough bats to be a decent starter. It turns out I was only part right; he did miss plenty of bats, striking out 7.05/9 innings last year. His other numbers weren't so pretty: 10.11 H/9, 2 HR/9!, and 4.92 BB/9. He was better in AAA, but still allowed 1.32 HR/9, which is entirely too many for someone who puts a lot of guys on base.

Igawa's spring got off to a horrible start yesterday, giving up 4 runs on 1 hit (a grand slam), 2 walks, and a hit batter. Keep in mind that he was facing college kids using wood bats, and that the guy who hit the grand slam hasn't played in 2 years because of injuries and a transfer. Igawa apparently was hit hard in the head at some point during the game, because after the game, he was delusional:

In one inning, he allowed four runs, one hit, two walks and hit a batter.

The hit was a grand slam by Eric Bauman, who hadn't played collegiate baseball since 2005 because of transferring and injury.

"My control was pretty good," said Igawa, oblivious to the walks and hit batter.

"What I would like to do is to get more control when I am throwing harder. Today, I felt like I was throwing too low."

If two walks, a hit batter, and a wild pitch are good control, I'd hate to see him have bad control.

In much better news, the big three had a pretty decent day:

Chamberlain, who was given the start even though he is being groomed as Mariano Rivera's setup man, retired all six hitters he faced, fanning two. Kennedy, who is being counted on as the fourth or fifth starter, worked two scoreless innings and gave up a single. In one inning, Hughes faced three batters, didn't give up a hit and whiffed two.

It was an exhibition against a college team, but it was still good to see the big 3 have a successful day. I have huge hopes for all of them, particularly Phil Hughes (as the blog title would imply). I can't wait to see all three of them in real game action this year.

*Note: I refuse to post any part of the rest of the article, as it is George King and he insists on calling them Generation Trey, which is too stupid to even mock. King also insists on constantly reminding his readers that the pitchers were just facing college guys, as though we were all predicting a 3 way Cy Young race between the three because of their first exhibition starts. This is why I think George King should be fired...out of a cannon, into the sun.